Mentorship startup ecosystem
We track 3 organisations in this sector across 3+ countries.
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DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship
The DCU Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship is a not-for-profit startup support organization in Dublin, affiliated with Dublin City University and founded with philanthropic support from the Ryan family (of Ryanair fame). Since its establishment in 2010, the Ryan Academy has become a hub for accelerator programs, entrepreneurship training, and ecosystem initiatives in Ireland. It operates from DCU’s Innovation Campus and focuses on early-stage startups as well as fostering entrepreneurial skills among students and the general public. Two flagship programs define the Academy: Propeller Accelerator, which was one of Ireland’s first seed accelerators (launched 2011, focused on tech startups), and the Female High Fliers program, an accelerator exclusively for women-led startups. Through these, the Academy has accelerated dozens of startups – alumni include fintech startup CurrencyFair and data startup Logentries, both of which achieved successful exits. Startups accepted into Ryan Academy programs receive pre-seed funding (up to €30k), office space, mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs, and investor introductions. The Academy also provides entrepreneurship training courses, both at DCU (to students via modules) and to the wider community via short courses. Uniquely, the Ryan Academy blends academic and practical aspects: participants can tap into DCU research expertise while getting hands-on workshops by industry practitioners. The Academy actively engages in EU projects and networks, e.g. it led the INSPIRE program to support immigrant entrepreneurs and partnered on the Startup Europe initiative. Impact-wise, the DCU Ryan Academy has supported over 500 entrepreneurs and helped secure follow-on funding for many. It is credited with improving diversity in Ireland’s startup scene (through Female High Fliers) and championing social entrepreneurship as well. Alumni like Boxever (AI in travel, acquired by Sitecore) got early support at Ryan Academy. With its mission to “develop Ireland’s next generation of entrepreneurs,” the Academy plays a pivotal role in the ecosystem. It effectively acts as a “support organization” bridging academia, industry, and startup community – offering not just programs but also research, events, and policy input to grow Ireland’s innovation capacity.
Lanzadera
Lanzadera is a philanthropic, non-equity startup accelerator founded in 2013 by Juan Roig, chairman of Mercadona — Spain's largest supermarket chain — and housed at Marina de Empresas, a 10,000 m² entrepreneurship campus on Valencia's port that also hosts EDEM Business School and Angels Capital. The programme admits roughly 120 startups per cohort across two annual intakes and four maturity tracks (Start, Traction, Growth and Scale Up), each running a minimum of six months. Rather than taking equity, Lanzadera offers flexible loans from €1,000 up to €500,000 at favourable terms, alongside a dedicated project director, mentorship, training grounded in Mercadona's Total Quality Model, and access to Angels Capital. Since 2013 it has accelerated over 1,700 companies and recorded 19 exits including the IPO of Place to Plug; the Financial Times ranked it the #1 startup hub in Spain and #7 in Europe in 2025. Notable alumni include Paack, encrypted-cloud provider Internxt, pet-health platform Barkibu, eSIM provider Holafly and robotics startup Keybotic (acquired by defence-AI firm Helsing in 2026).
Robimy Startupy w Lodzi #402
Long-running local startup meetup in Lodz focused on practical feedback, mentorship, and early-stage networking. The #402 edition continues a grassroots format that is especially accessible for first-time founders and local ecosystem participants.
